Department of Justice

Wildboys Gang Member Sentenced to Prison for Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering and Related Firearm Offense

A member of the Wildboys gang was sentenced today to 20 years in prison in federal court in Charleston, South Carolina, after being found guilty by a federal jury for his role in the attempted murder of a rival gang member.

The announcement was made by Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge C.J. Hyman of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Charlotte, North Carolina Field Division; Solicitor Duffie Stone of the 14th Judicial Circuit; Solicitor David Pascoe of the First Circuit; Sheriff R.A. Strickland of the Colleton County, South Carolina Sheriff’s Office; Chief Wade Marvin of the Walterboro, South Carolina Police Department; Sheriff Al Cannon, Jr. of the Charleston County, South Carolina Sheriff’s Office; Sheriff L. C. Knight of the Dorchester County, South Carolina Sheriff’s Office; Chief Jon Rogers of the Summerville, South Carolina Police Department; Director Jerry Adger of the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services; and Chief Mark Keel of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

Devin Brown aka “Deno Badazz,” 23, of Green Pond, South Carolina, was sentenced to 240 months in prison, including a 10 year mandatory minimum consecutive sentence by U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel, for use of a firearm during a crime of violence. In addition, Brown was ordered to serve a term of five years of supervised release, and to pay the cost of the victim’s medical care.

According to evidence presented at trial, Brown was a member of the Wildboys, a violent street gang from the Green Pond area of Walterboro, South Carolina. At trial, prosecutors presented evidence that showed that beginning as early as 2012, Brown and other Wildboys gang members engaged in racketeering activity, including the April 7, 2015, attempted murder of a rival gang member in a drive-by shooting involving assault-type firearms. An innocent bystander inside the home was shot and injured, the evidence showed.

Four individuals have previously pleaded guilty to their involvement in the Wildboys gang. In June 2017, U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel of the District of South Carolina sentenced Wildboys members and associates Kelvin Mitchell, Damien Robinson, and Brian Manigo for their roles in gang-related racketeering activities. In August 2017, Wildboys member Joshua Manigault, aka “J-Rizzle,” was sentenced for his role in gang-related activities.

This case was investigated by the ATF Charleston, South Carolina Office, in partnership with the Walterboro Police Department; Colleton County Sheriff’s Office; Charleston County Sheriff’s Office; Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office; Summerville Police Department; Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office; First Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office; South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services; and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Leshia Lee-Dixon of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tameaka A. Legette from the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office, Bluffton, South Carolina.